Akron Volleyball Tops Western Michigan in Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, October 19

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

14-5, 7-1MAC

Western Michigan

11-9, 2-6MAC

Western Mich.

Akron

Akron Volleyball Tops Western Michigan in Five-Set Thriller

October 20 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

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Box Score (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – Akron Volleyball earned its third win in a row, defeating Western Michigan, 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-13, 19-25, 15-11) Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

With the win, Akron improves to 14-5 (7-1 MAC), while Western Michigan falls to 11-9 (2-6 MAC).

"We found our composure just in time to win the match tonight. We had a fairly well-balanced attack at both pins, and then Ashley [Richardson] having a great night in the middle helped make everyone better. I'm looking forward to getting better in the gym this week" said head coach Tom Hanna.

Leading the way for the Zips was junior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) who finished with team-high 20 kills. Not far behind was senior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio), who had a great night offensively, finishing with 17 kills to just one error, good for a .533 hitting percentage.

Junior setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) had a match-high 59 assists, while adding five blocks and five kills of her own. Defensively, junior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) paced the back row with 32 digs. Adleta also contributed, adding 23 digs of her own.

The Zips began the first set strongly, gaining an early 6-2 lead over the Broncos. This lead would hold for a large part of the set, until late when a five-point run by Western Michigan tied the set at 19. After each team traded a couple side outs, Akron was able to take the last three points, thanks to two errors by the Broncos and a set-clinching kill by Richardson.

The second set began much like the first, as the Zips' offense came out firing, leading 11-3 early on. Western Michigan, however, would not go down without a fight. After slowly creeping back to cut the deficit to four (18-14), it was able to rattle off seven consecutive points, taking the lead 21-18.

Akron put up a good fight, however the Broncos were able to take the second set, 25-22.

The Zips were able to make quick work of Western Michigan in the third set. After gaining a 8-6 lead around the midway point, the offense was able to find its groove in a big way, taking the next 11 points, which showed little resistance by the Broncos. That run propelled Akron to take the third set with ease, 25-13.

Both teams were determined to take the fourth set, which saw a tie at each of the first 11 points, until a five-point run put Western Michigan ahead, 15-11. Another five-point run later in the set propelled the Broncos to take the fourth set, 25-19, forcing a deciding fifth set.

After an early 2-2 tie, the Zips were able to take six of the next seven points, thanks in large part to Weigand and Richardson who had combined for three kills and two blocks in that stretch. Akron led 8-3 leading into the side-switch.

The Broncos, who had remained resilient the entire night, responded by taking six of the next eight points, decreasing the deficit to just one point (10-9). After each team traded two side outs, Akron was able to close out the set and ultimately the match, thanks to a match-clinching block by Richardson and Weigand.

The Zips will be back in action next weekend as they head to Michigan to take on first-place Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m., followed by a match at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m.